It’s another gorgeously hot, sunny day here in London. The vines are loving it. Above there’s a Pinot Noir flower cluster beginning to develop (this will, given nice weather during flowering, end up as a modestly sized bunch of grapes), and below is a shoot tip on another Pinot Noir vine.

Just posted my pictures from California’s Napa Valley on the photo section of wineanorak.com. It’s a beautiful place in autumn when the sun is out. I’ve just finished an article for The Drinks Business on my Napa trip back in November, focusing on how the region is rediscovering its roots: forget about all the cult [...]

Did some staff training for London restaurant Hakkasan today. The subject? Sherry and Port. It was a fun session, and we finished with the 1985 Taylor, a Port that’s now peaking, showing lovely complex, mature flavours, as well as retaining some fruit and tannin. Lovely stuff.

Here’s a picture from my recent trip, which really captures the wildness of the Central Otago wine region. It’s an aerial view of a winery in the Central Otago region. I think it’s in the Gibbston district (and suspect it may be Chard Farm). Can anyone help with a positive identification? Wish I was still [...]